I saw the classic Hollywood disaster film The Towering Inferno in my twenties, two decades after it was released. I watched it after I read Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel by author Marshall Terrill. In fact, after reading TerriIl’s book, I watched just about every Steve McQueen film that I had not yet seen. One tidbit from the book that I found interesting was that McQueen and Paul Newman were such fierce competitors that it led to McQueen counting the lines in the script and demanding to one-up his rival in order to flex his new-found star power by having one more line than Newman. Egos aside, I’m glad he did. This led to the final and, in my opinion, most poignant line in the entire film. Newman plays the architect who designed the amazing spectacle of a building which, turns out, had some flaws due to corporate fat cats cutting corners. Steve McQueen portrays the fire chief who saves the day.

The exchange is chilling:

McQueen: You know, we were lucky tonight. Body count’s less than two hundred. You know, one of these days, you’re gonna kill ten thousand in one of these firetraps, and I’m gonna keep eating smoke and bringing out bodies until somebody asks us how to build them.

Newman: Okay. I’m asking.

McQueen: You know where to reach me, architect.

This exact scenario proposes itself to me week after week. Those who construct and develop companies and infrastructures do not always look at what it takes to keep it safe. I know what you’re thinking. This should be a given. It isn’t. As I’ve said over and over, security and convenience are natural enemies. In other words, the more convenient it is to use a product, the less secure it is. There is no exception. So, when individuals, investors and the like are building a company, security (no mater what they admit) is an afterthought. This is why you’ve seen so many data breaches including Equifax, Sony, and Neiman Marcus. Did you know Neiman didn’t even have a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) until months after the breach?! Overlooking security in lieu of growth is an epidemic in this ‘race-to-a-billion-dollar-market-cap’ culture. “So how can I prevent the next big hack?” you ask. I’m glad you posed the question.

We work for many major corporations with a lot of assets to protect, and not a single one of those who trusted us have had a leak that led to negative publicity. Nor has one of these companies had significant physical threat to a VIP. “Impossible! How is that?” you say. The answer is simple, but requires discipline and commitment: You need to put out ever single small fire that comes along. Every. Single. One. Don’t wait for the big fires. That’s it. It’s that simple.

First, determine what is valuable within your organization. This includes human capital (executives) as well as intellectual property (content).

Second, investigate every single threat no matter how insignificant it seems.

Third, follow up with every lead in succession based on priority determined by the results of the investigation.

If you follow these principles, with our guidance, you will never experience a towering inferno.

IPCybercrime’s Founder and CEO, Rob Holmes, has been slated to speak at the annual Digital Hollywood conference. Digital Hollywood is the leading trade conference in its field with over 15,000 top executives in the film, television, music, home video, cable, telecommunications and computer industries attending each year. The last decade has been a whirlwind in the digital world and often dictates how Hollywood handles entertainment and its supporting industries. Digital Hollywood creates a focal point for show business executives to learn about trends and collaborate with like-minded professionals. This conference, dated October 10-12, 2017 at the Skirball Center will be the most forward-thinking of them all. Never before have entertainment, talent, streaming technology and creativity professionals been bubbling so close together with such purpose. This conference will be a treat interested parties should not dare miss.

Rob Holmes will be presenting on Thursday, October 12th, on a panel entitled “Hollywood and Cybercrimes” with an all-star group of experts including moderator Frank Nein of 9Sight2020, Daren Manners of SyCom Technologies, and visionary futurist Newton Lee. The panel will cover topics such as data breaches, threat management, and the future of cyber crime in the entertainment industry. With a conference of such magnitude, this panel should be the one that no one should miss. Seriously. In the last couple of years, information warfare has been declared on Hollywood. So far, the response has been mediocre and the tabloids have been having a field day. This panel will shed light on where things are heading and how this all-star team envisions how to secure the future of digital entertainment.

The talent involved in this panel, and the importance of the Digital Hollywood movement will inspire you to keep forging forward and help inspire you with a plan to win. Entertainment has been evolving since its inception. It’s never moved faster than now. Stay in touch and keep up. Don’t miss this conference. Boom. Done.